James Ellison has been a behind-the-scenes leader in Harrisburg Mayor-elect Linda Thompson's road to the mayoral office

View full sizeDan Gleiter, The Patriot-News, 2009James Ellison, a Harrisburg attorney: “There are two types of leaders. There are the front leaders. ... And then there are servant leaders. The people who are doing some of the heavy lifting, who assist in coming up with the ideas. That’s the role I’ve embraced.”

The 12th floor of the M&T Building on Market Street offers a commanding view of Harrisburg.

James Ellison surveys the vista as he sits in the conference room of the Rhoads & Sinon LLP law firm, where he’s worked for 13 years. The city below is not Ellison’s kingdom, but the attorney was certainly instrumental in getting many of the people who will run it elected.

He orchestrated Mayor-Elect Linda Thompson’s campaign that ended the decades-long tenure of Mayor Stephen R. Reed. He also had a hand in successful political runs by Gloria Martin-Roberts, Susan Brown-Wilson and Kelly Summerford for the City Council, as well as Tiffney Penn and Patricia Whitehead-Myers for Harrisburg’s school board.

In city politics, Ellison has become a king maker.

Despite this track record, Ellison has never considered running for public office. Looking out of the conference room window, he explains why he’s comfortable in his role.

"There are two types of leaders," he says. "There are the front leaders, you know, the people who are out front. The folks who are actually on the stage, who have to inspire and lead by example.

"And then there are servant leaders. You know, the people who are behind the scenes. The people who are doing some of the heavy lifting, who assist in coming up with the ideas. That’s the role I’ve embraced."

But his close ties to city leaders have elicited questions. Ellison’s law firm has profited handsomely from $2.4 million in work with the school district and Harrisburg Authority.

Through his connection with Thompson, Ellison can greatly influence whether those profits continue, critics say.

And while Thompson has stated that Ellison will not hold a formal position in her administration, the mayor-elect says she might call on his help in her efforts to "move the city forward."

CAMPAIGN VETERAN

Philadelphia-born and raised, Ellison, 39, moved to Harrisburg in 1996 to work with Rhoads & Sinon. Ellison, who lives in the city’s Midtown section, is a divorced father of two children, both of whom attend Harrisburg City Schools.

About three years after moving to Harrisburg, Ellison met Thompson while he was working on former City Councilman Eric Waters’ campaign. Waters’ father, attorney Nate Waters, has been Ellison’s long-time mentor.

At the time, Ellison was also working on a re-election campaign for Reed.

"Linda approached me and asked me if I would assist her with her campaign," Ellison said about Thompson’s first run for City Council. Thompson eventually would go on to become council president.

"Initially, I declined. ... But there was something about Linda. Something about Linda’s presence and Linda’s aura that made me change my mind."

Thompson’s council run was the first campaign Ellison managed, but it would be far from the last.

"I’ve managed the campaign for a good dozen or a dozen and a half people in Harrisburg, starting in the late <ze>¤’90s," he said.

Ellison played a similar, behind-the-scenes role in Whitehead-Myers’ successful run for the school board.

"He came to me and asked me if I would run, and I was hesitant at first," Whitehead-Myers said.

" ‘You can do this,’ " Whitehead-Myers said Ellison told her. " ‘We can do this together.’ We did, and I won. I was surprised."

Whitehead-Myers said that although Ellison was simultaneously managing Thompson’s campaign and working on a few others, he was just as organized and committed to her.

"I worked my butt off, door to door," Whitehead-Myers said. "We did the whole city, knocking on doors, talking to people. I mean the whole city, starting from the primary on up to election. He was out there with us."

As his multiple candidates were canvassing the city, Ellison was either there in person or a cell phone call away. Whatever the candidates needed, Ellison would provide, Whitehead-Myers said.

"He came by and made sure we were all right, made sure we had water," she said. "He was right there. It was him and Vince Champion, his partner.

"He doesn’t know how to say no," she said. "He’s a hard worker, very intelligent for his age. He does his homework. He investigates everything just like a lawyer would, to find out what he needs to do to get the job done."

Nate Waters, Ellison’s mentor, summed up the attorney as "bright and energetic."

Ellison came to Rhoads & Sinon LLP as an intern when Waters was a partner at the firm. After his internship, the partners offered him a job. Waters is no longer with Rhoads & Sinon, but the two remain close.

Waters, who serves on Thompson’s education transition team, said he doesn’t know what part his protégé might play in the mayor-elect’s administration.

"I have not talked to him about it," Waters said. "Whatever his role, I imagine he is going to continue to be a lawyer at Rhoads & Sinon. He’s a young man, and I see him growing and doing whatever it is he decides. Whatever he decides to undertake, James Ellison will be able to do it."

CONCERN ABOUT POSSIBLE CONFLICTS

While friends and opponents alike acknowledge Ellison’s prodigious work ethic, critics have sharply questioned the relationships between his work for candidates, his work for the city of Harrisburg, and his law firm.

Formerly a Reed ally, Ellison was general counsel for the Harrisburg School District during 1997-1999 and again after Reed’s takeover of the schools during 2001-2005.

However, the district stopped using Rhoads & Sinon in 2008. Harrisburg Superintendent Gerald Kohn would not discuss why the district ended the relationship.

In her campaign, Thompson was vocal in her desire to replace Kohn.

Rhoads and Sinon reaped more legal fees after Ellison became head of the Harrisburg Authority, the agency that oversees a host of assets including the debt-plagued incinerator. Prior to becoming chairman of the Harrisburg Authority, Ellison had been the authority’s general counsel from 1997 to 2002.

In early 2007, the City Council asserted its right to appoint members —including Ellison — to the authority. That right was disputed by Reed and is still being argued before the courts. Oral arguments in that case were heard recently by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

But Ellison and two others were finally seated in August 2007, with Ellison elected chairman.

Dan Miller, City Council vice president and soon-to-be city controller, said he is concerned about the large number of fees going to Rhoads and Sinon with Ellison as the authority’s chairman.

"The whole appearance is a conflict of interest," Miller said.

Miller also is concerned that the Harrisburg Authority has yet to make a debt-service payment this year on its estimated $288 million debt on the incinerator.

"It’s hard to believe there is good management going on when that’s the case," Miller said. "I do know that they have not turned an operating profit so far this year. Those are the facts. They sort of speak for themselves."

City resident and activist Bill Cluck also questioned whether Ellison’s role as chairman and his involvement in Thompson’s campaign present a conflict of interest.

"A fresh start is needed with a new, politically independent chairperson of the Harrisburg Authority," said Cluck recently after an authority meeting. "For the good of the city, Mr. Ellison should resign his chairmanship of the Harrisburg Authority.

"It isn’t so much the work done by Rhoads & Sinon," Cluck told The Patriot-News later. "It is the failure of the board of the authority to be straight with the public about the issues involving the financing and operation of the incinerator. ... The perception is that the law firm profits from the legal work, and that creates cynicism and distrust in our local government."

Ellison, who has fielded repeated questions concerning his dual role as Thompson’s campaign manager and chairman of the authority, dismissed the notion of a conflict.

"Even though I serve as chair of the Harrisburg Authority, I don’t do legal work for the Harrisburg Authority," Ellison said. "One of my partners does. He was doing that work with the Harrisburg Authority before I took over as chairman. So, I didn’t want the fact that I was working as chairman to compromise whatever business opportunitieshe had over there. But I personally do not do any business with the Harrisburg Authority."

Ellison said he has no plans to resign as chairman. Thompson said recently, in an e-mailed statement, that it is his decision whether he stays on the board.

While some might question whether conflicts exist due to Ellison’s heavy involvement in city politics, those concerns are not shared by senior partners in his law firm.

"I think we are very comfortable with James supporting a candidate in terms of Mayor-elect Thompson for election, just like we would be comfortable with other partners having interests, activities outside of practicing law," said Chuck Ferry, a managing partner at Rhoads & Sinon. "It’s not unusual or unheard of."

Ferry had no comment on Ellison’s role as chairman of the Harrisburg Authority and the increase in fees Rhoads & Sinon received after Ellison became the authority’s chairman in 2007. But he supported Ellison’s involvement in Thompson’s campaign.

A number of the firm’s attorneys "have supported local and regional candidates from time to time," Ferry said. "Candidates from both sides of the aisle." ¶

"We had supported Mayor Reed in the past," Ferry said. "I don’t think there is anything unusual about it or out of line."

RECOGNIZED POLITICAL EXPERTISE

Miller might not like Ellison’s handling of the Harrisburg Authority, but Miller doesn’t dismiss his political prowess.

"He’s been successful with Linda, and I do believe he is an important person behind her rise to becoming mayor," Miller said. "I believe she relies a good bit on him. He is certainly somebody who should be paid attention to."

Reed doesn’t minimize Ellison’s political skills, either.

Given Ellison’s work on Thompson’s campaign and the outcome of the election, Reed said Ellison will be sought out by others and people will try to curry favor with the young attorney.

Thompson recently referred to Ellison as a "close confidante and a trusted friend."

During the mayoral race, he could often be seen at debates and community forums, watching Thompson take center stage from his seat in the crowd. He could be found seated next to Thompson during Editorial Board meetings at The Patriot-News. Ellison would listen and not become engaged unless asked a direct question.

In response to written questions submitted by The Patriot-News, Thompson said Ellison will not hold a position in her administration. She also said Ellison is not serving on either one of her transition teams.

"With that said, he has expressed his willingness to do whatever is necessary to move the city forward," Thompson wrote, "and I may call upon him periodically to do so."

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